Argentine Economy Slips into Recession

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentina slid into recession in the first quarter, with gross domestic product in Latin America's No. 3 economy contracting 0.8 percent after shrinking a downwardly revised 0.5 percent in the last three months of 2013, official data showed on Monday.

The news came on the back of a setback for Argentina last week in its fight over debt, and as the economy grapples with one of the world's highest inflation rates, difficult access to capital, complex export and import restrictions, and falling central bank reserves.

Year-on-year, the economy contracted 0.2 percent in the first quarter, the Indec National Statistics Agency added. The agency previously reported that fourth quarter 2013 GDP had contracted 0.4 percent.

Many economists expect Argentina to post a full-year contraction in 2014, the first since its catastrophic 2001-02 debt crisis, when it defaulted on $100 billion of debt.